Portrait 4: A Delicate Balance
by lwbush
Summary: Fourth story in the series. A young man from Gabrielle's hometown comes between the two lovers.


# A Delicate Balance

By Lori Bush

Disclaimer: Except for Stavros, these characters aren't mine. Although I like the way I make them behave so much more than the way TPTB do, so if they want to give them to me…. In reality, Joxer and Gabrielle belong to Renaissance Pictures and USA/Universal Studios, and no money will be made here.

Rating: PG

Sex: None

Violence: One good rib-bashing, and that's it.

This story is the fourth in a series that assumes that "it" happened. The first story is "I'd Be Better Off…" and the second is "Stuck In The Middle". The third was "A Matter of Trust". Now that Gabby and Joxer are together, what are the issues and incidents they have to deal with?

Thanks Chris for the tough stance you take when I argue with you. You're usually right. A better editor would be hard to find. And thanks Findle, too, for your suggestions.

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Joxer was walking through the agora, smiling and whistling his song, very pleased with his latest purchase, which was clutched tightly in his hand. He stopped for a moment, carefully tucking it into his bag – he would wait and surprise her with it later. It was quite possibly the most beautiful quill case he had ever seen. True, it had cost him most of the dinars he had in his possession at the time, but it was decidedly worth it. It would be one of the best gifts he had ever given Gabrielle. 

He saw the glint of her hair in the street ahead. No one had hair quite like hers, the color and texture seeming uniquely her own, and he could pick it out in the thickest crowd. The mass of people in the street parted, and Joxer caught sight of the love of his life. She was fingering fabric at a merchant's stall, a faraway look in her eye. Then he noticed the young man, who was quite obviously trying to sneak up on her. His bard was in danger! Joxer drew his sword, and hurried to her defense.

He was able to catch up with the fellow just as he was reaching for Gabby. The warrior wanna-be put his sword at the miscreant's throat, and said, in his most threatening voice, "Don't lay a hand on her!"

Gabrielle turned, startled by the vehemence in Joxer's voice. She saw her lover, his sword point at the throat of… "Stavros! What are you doing here?"

The young man glared at her defender. "Right now, trying to avoid being shish-ka-bobbed. You know this guy, Gabrielle?"

She smiled at the taller man. "It's okay, Joxer. Stavros and I grew up together. He's from Poteidaia." Reluctantly, Joxer sheathed his sword.

"He was trying to sneak up on you, and I was worried. Just because nobody's tried to kidnap you in a while doesn't mean we can let our guard down." The bard smiled reassuringly and patted his arm.

"So, Stavros, what brings you so far from home?" the bard asked again, looking the younger man over. He was wearing the remnants of a soldier's uniform, with a military sword at his side. Stavros had been just a boy when she had left to follow Xena – she had been little more than a girl herself. The kid sure hadn't grown much – he couldn't be more than four inches taller than Gabrielle was. He still had a head of curly dark blonde hair above dark blue eyes which showed hints of maturity gained in suffering, in spite of the smile they currently reflected. She was trying to remember – was he Lila's age, or a year or two younger? She wasn't sure. She did remember that he had worshipped the very ground upon which Perdicas had trod. She shook her head, clearing the rush of memories. She always felt a little guilty about her current happiness when thoughts of her late husband emerged.

"Well, when Perdicas left home to join the army, I followed him. We trained together, but then he was sent to Troy, and I was sent to Athens to work as a guard. We lost touch for a while, and then I heard that you two had gotten married, and what happened afterwards." The young man looked stricken for a moment. "I'm real sorry, Gabrielle."

She smiled sadly, and nodded.

"After I heard that Perdicas was dead, I quit the army, and went back home. Finally, I decided I should come look for you, to make sure you were okay. It took me quite a while to find you."

Gabrielle sighed. This boy was so like Perdicas, his idol, in so many ways; the most annoying one being his assumption that she needed to be taken care of. She had always suspected that he had a small crush on her, and she never was quite sure if it was due to her betrothal to his idol or just his own personal feelings. She had changed so much in the years since her husband's death that even if that had been true that she needed caring for to some degree when they had married, it was no longer true in any way. Her love now was a relationship of equals – neither assuming the other would necessarily lead or follow, but both working in concert.

Joxer was fidgeting, uncomfortable with the look on his bard's face. This youngster troubled her, and that, in turn, upset him. He moved towards her, to pull her into his embrace, to let her knew she wasn't alone in this, but she looked at him, shaking her head; so he stayed back, his eyes boring angry holes in the young man's back. Finally, he heard her invite the boy back to their camp. He gave her a doubtful look, and she shrugged. As they started off, he found himself trailing behind, listening to their conversation.

"Stavros, I travel with Xena. I have for years. She and I and Joxer, we're a team. She was there for me when Perdicas died – they both were." The bard threw a sweet smile over her shoulder, which lightened Joxer's spirits somewhat. "I've had some tough times, but I am, and have been, okay. You could have just asked my parents, or Lila. They know."

"Well, your mother said you were fine, but your dad wasn't so happy. He said something about one of your companions being suitable, but he wasn't too pleased about the other."

Gabrielle smiled. Her parents had always liked Joxer, and were thrilled that their daughter had finally taken up with him on a more personal basis. Her dad, however, had never quite forgiven Xena for taking their oldest away, although he managed to tolerate her for Gabrielle's sake. 

When they returned to the campsite, Joxer went out to collect firewood for supper. They had caught a rabbit earlier, keeping it safe and hidden until they could skin it and prepare it for their evening meal. Joxer returned with the wood, and Gabrielle asked Stavros to start the fire, while she and Joxer foraged for vegetables to make a stew.

Once they were out of the sight of the camp, she grabbed her lover and pulled him to her for a long kiss. "Well, it's about time," he pronounced indignantly when they finally came up for air.

"Joxer, he adored Perdicas. I don't know how he'd deal with the idea of you and I together. Let's humor him for now, and play 'just friends.' We can send him on his way in the morning, and everything will be back to normal. You can live without me for just one night, can't you?" She smiled at him, and blinked her eyes flirtatiously.

"No," he growled, and pulled her in for another kiss. When he let go he sighed, "But I guess I'll have to." He was only half joking. They went pretty much everywhere with Xena, and while their relationship with the Warrior Princess was close, there were certain times that as a couple, they just wanted to be alone together. So every once in a while, Xena would head out on some mission or another, leaving them behind so they could have a little space. This had been one of those times, and he had been so looking forward to some time for the two of them. But this mattered to Gabby, so he would do what she asked. He stroked her hair as she snuggled in his arms. Then he ran his hands over her back, pulling her even tighter, and …

"Gabrielle!" The young man's voice was both insistent and pretty darn close. Joxer growled something he didn't often say as the bard pulled away. She kissed her fingers and then placed them over his mouth, then turned and headed in the direction of Stavros' call.

"There you are," the young soldier exclaimed. "I was getting worried about you."

The bard rolled her eyes. "Stavros, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Besides, Joxer was out here with me. There was nothing to worry about."

Her childhood friend grimaced. "Like that big doofus could do anything for you if you were in trouble."

Gabrielle turned on him in anger. "That 'big doofus' as you call him, has saved my life more than once. I don't need you insulting my friends. You can just leave if that's the way you feel." She turned on her heel and stomped back to camp.

Stavros scurried after her. Just outside the camp, he caught up, grabbing her arm to stop her. He seemed a little surprised by the anger in her eyes. "Look," he said softly, "I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget that you and your friends have been out here taking care of yourselves for a long time. I still think of you as Perdicas' widow, alone and helpless. I guess you aren't." Gabrielle nodded, not convinced he was really saying what he felt. Maybe he was just trying to avoid a fight while he considered the facts. She hoped he would finally see her as she really was.

That night, dinner and the accompanying conversation were strained and awkward. Joxer alternated between scowling and pouting, and it was all Gabrielle could do to stop herself from going over and sitting in his lap to comfort him. Stavros prattled on about all the wonders of their hometown, trying to make Poteidaia sound like paradise on earth. Gabrielle wondered if he remembered that she too had lived half her life there. In fact, she had probably been back more recently than he had. She was grateful when the dishes were done (giving her another brief rendezvous in the woods with Joxer), and bedtime was upon them. 

She was trying to remember the last time she had slept in her bedroll alone. Joxer was across the fire ring, tossing and turning miserably. She knew how he felt. This was supposed to be "couple time" not "hometown reunion." She would be relieved when tomorrow came and she could propel Stavros towards his beloved Poteidaia and out of their lives again. She lay still for a moment – Stavros was snoring softly. She considered dragging Joxer back into the woods, but chided herself for the thought. They had the rest of their lives to spend together – one night would not kill either of them. She heard Joxer shift again, and sighed. She hoped it wouldn't.

Joxer couldn't find a comfortable position. Actually, he knew right where the comfortable position was – right across the fire ring, to the left of Gabby, where he slept every night. He blew out his breath in a huff, and heard her giggle softly from her bedroll – _their_ bedroll, darn it. He decided to try turning on his other side.

Morning finally arrived, and it came quickly enough to convince Joxer he had slept for a while. He looked around to see Stavros stretched out and still asleep, and Gabby in a little ball beneath her pelt. From her position, he figured she must have been cold during the night – he knew he was. He gathered his sword and the water skin and headed off to the stream to do his morning routine.

Gabrielle woke slowly, stretching her knotted body first this way, and then that. She patted the spot beside her – it was cold, so Joxer must have gotten up a while ago. Then she remembered that he had never been there last night to warm it, and she sighed. She sat up, looking right onto the eyes of Stavros, who seemed to be studying her. She looked away, uncomfortable.

He spoke, softly but forcefully. "Get your things together, Gabrielle. I'm taking you home." She stared at him in disbelief. He pulled her to her feet, keeping a tight grip on her arm. She hollered in surprise and pain but was alert enough to grab her staff as she rose, feeling that she might have use for it. 

She looked defiantly into his eyes. "You're not taking me anywhere. You've got no right."

"You don't belong here, Gabrielle. You need to be home, with your parents, with the people who love you.You say Xena cares for you, but she leaves you here, all but alone, while she goes off gods know where. Not only that, but she leaves you with some guy who I'm pretty sure your father doesn't trust, who could take advantage of you if you aren't careful. I don't think you've really thought about all this."

"I don't think_ you've_ thought about all this, Stavros. Let go of me, and we can talk about it. Please let me go."

Joxer heard a scream, and was on his feet in a heartbeat. He arrived in camp, sword in hand, to find Gabby standing over a moaning Stavros. The young man was holding his ribs in pain, down on his knees. Joxer sheathed his sword, and put his arms around the bard from behind. "I asked him to let me go nicely first," she said sadly.

He almost giggled in his relief. She was okay, and he figured she had probably proved her point, as well. "Do you think you broke anything?" he murmured in her ear.

Reprieve was evident in her voice as well. "No, but those bruised ribs are going to slow him down for a while."

Stavros lifted his head and looked at the couple. "Ohhh," he moaned, unable to say anything more.

"You know, Stavros, I've changed a lot since we knew each other. Maybe you didn't know that I'm an Amazon Queen – that's where I learned how to defend myself with the staff." She waved her weapon casually, and the man on the ground winced. "I left Poteidaia because I felt stifled there, and after all these years out and about, I'm sure I wouldn't be any happier now. You want me to go back because you know that's what Perdicas wanted. Well, it was, but even then, as much as I loved him, I wasn't all too happy about going back and settling down. And if he were still alive, I'm not even sure I would have stayed married to him – either that or I wouldn't be half the person I am today. The man I love accepts me as I am, and doesn't try to rule me or change me to suit some picture he has in his head – isn't that right, Joxer?"

"I guess I do," he grinned.

"Him?" the younger man managed to gasp.

Joxer smiled. "Yup." It felt good to be holding her again.

"Maybe you should go back to Poteidaia, Stavros. Talk to my parents about it – they love Joxer. Maybe you should see my sister, Lila – she was pretty heartbroken when this 'big doofus' chose me instead of her. Maybe you just ought to get all the facts next time _before_ you make any unilateral decisions. You know Perdicas would have done that much." She pulled gently away from Joxer's arms and offered the man her hand to help him up. He came to a standing position slowly and gingerly.

"Man, I'd heard about Amazons, but I never got _hit_ by one before. You're pretty good with that thing." The young man rubbed his ribs, wincing again.

"Yeah, she's saved my hide more than once with it," Joxer smiled, instantly willing to forgive the man once his love was back where she belonged. Gabby returned to his side and slid her arms around his waist. "Sorry you had to find out the hard way."

The young man nervously looked at the ground, and his hands, at everything but the faces of the happy couple before him. "Well, I'd better be going – it's a long way from here to Poteidaia." Stavros seemed to be in a hurry to get as far as he could away from that staff, which he eyed with some trepidation. He stuck out his arm, and Joxer clasped it. "Take care of her, if she'll let you," the younger man told him. "Sorry I was so hard on you."

"Aw, man, I've been called worse – some of it by her," the taller man grinned. "Be careful – there are people just as tough out there, and they won't take it so easy on you."

"That was _easy_?" Stavros groaned. "Oh, great." He looked down at the bard. "I guess I don't have to tell you to take care of _him_, huh?"

"We get by," she said cheerfully. She released Joxer and stepped toward the young man again. "Tell mom and dad we said 'Hi", and do check in on Lila for me, okay?" She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and stepped back again. Stavros headed down the road, turning every once in a while to see Joxer and Gabrielle waving madly at him, until he was too far away to be seen any longer. The bard turned to her lover and pulled him close. "We have some 'couple time' to make up for." Before she could pull his face all the way down to hers, he interrupted.

"Let me get something out of my bag first. You have to see this – it's perfect." She stood, arms crossed, tapping her foot while he fumbled in his bag. Finally he pulled out something wrapped in an old piece of cloth. He handed it to her, grinning expectantly. She unwrapped it, and found the most stunning quill case she had ever seen. 

She sat down beside him, turning it over and over in her hands. "Joxer, it's the most beautiful thing in the world."

He plucked it from her grasp, and laid it gently aside. "No, it isn't. You are." He put his arms around her. "Now how about that 'couple time'?"


End file.
